Orange & Green Pty Ltd // OUR PEOPLE //

Rudi van der Vlies (1968) obtained a Bachelor's degree in Commercial Economics & Business Administration (HEAO-CE) in The Hague, The Netherlands, in 1992.
Soon after he joined the "International SPAR Grocery Organisation" as a Private Brand Manager in their international division "Intergroup Trading (IGT)" in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. There he was responsible for the development and management of private brands from around the world to several of the European SPAR organisations and other European Retailers reporting directly to the Deputy Managing Director of IGT.
He left International SPAR in 1997 and moved to Australia where he joined Coles Myer Ltd in 1998 as the National Overseas Buying Manager for Coles Myer Supermarkets where he was responsible for the sourcing, buying, and international logistics of all imported private label merchandise.
On 8th January 2001 he founded - together with Stuart Lawson - Orange & Green Pty Ltd.

Jason Scher (1977) studied Bachelor of Commerce (Marketing/Management) at Monash University, Melbourne. Upon graduation in 2001, Jason joined Kraft Foods and spent four years at Kraft Foods in various roles: Logistics Department managing the supply chain between locally produced goods and the overseas customers, International Marketing Department managing the marketing program for goods produced in Australia for the Middle Eastern market and finally as a Buyer in their Procurement Department managing the packaging portfolio for products produced in Australia.
In 2005, Jason commenced at Orange and Green as their Commercial Manager and, along with Rudi van der Vlies, is responsible for the businesses commercial matters.

Joost van Zwam (1974) studied Logistics Management at the National Transport Academy in Venlo, the Netherlands, and has held a number of logistical positions in both Europe and Australia since his graduation in 1997.
From Europe, he joined Schenker Australia Pty Ltd in Melbourne in February 2002, where he was responsible for various supply & distribution functions.
Joost commenced with Orange & Green in October 2004 and is responsible for all Supply Chain and Logistics activities the company is involved with.
Currently he is completing his APICS' CPIM certification (Certified in Production and Inventory Management) which is an internally recognized standard for Supply Chain Professionals.

Janet Pearce (1969) completed a Bachelor of Business (Accounting) at RMIT in 1994.
Over the last 15 years, Janet has held a variety of accounting positions in manufacturing, wholesale and small business.
Janet commenced employment with Orange and Green in August 2006 as their Financial Manager and manages all day-to-day accounting functions of the business.

Stuart Lawson (1946) is Managing Director of Ornato Investments Pty. Ltd., a private Australian venture capital and investment company formed in 1975 from a successful commercial history dating back to 1908.
Since formation, Ornato Investments managed by Founding Director Stuart Lawson together with a small team of professional associates, has created or taken financial positions in firms whose activities include, amongst others, retail, equities, realty development, food packaging, software development & private branding.
Stuart brings to Orange & Green many years of prudent, commercial and financial experience and is in charge of its sound financial account management & financing requirements.

Graduating with a Ba Applied Science Food Tech/Biotech degree in 1990, Nick comes to Orange and Green with 18 years of food industry experience including exposure to manufacturing, legislation and consulting in the field of HACCP and general quality assurance.
Nick has experience dealing with the retail sector and its requirements with respect to general quality and compliance to Australian food law. Nick also has a sound understanding of the food manufacturing environment gained from extensive consulting and 3rd party auditing experience.
Nick’s role at Orange & Green involves coordinating O&G’s Quality Assurance function including the maintenance of the Quality Systems Manual and the exchange of technical information between both clients and trade partners

Birgit Taverna (1967) completed a Diploma in Export Management accredited by IATTO (International Association of Trade Training Organisations) in South Africa. Birgit speaks German, English and Afrikaans.
During the past 16 years, Birgit has been involved in the imports and exports of Industrial Ceramics, Food Ingredients and Spices (South Africa).
In March 2003, Birgit immigrated to Australia and joined Lincraft Pty Ltd. where she was involved with the importation of Textiles and exportation of Wools & Cotton Yarns to Europe and USA.
Birgit joined Orange & Green in September 2005 as a Logistics Administrator.

Sari has studied international business at Helsinki School of Economics. Whilst studying she worked for Transfennica, which specialises in exports of Finnish Forest Industry products. After graduation M.Sc (Econ) in 1994 Sari moved to the U.K. where she worked in different customer services and logistics roles for Sara Lee, ARCO Chemical and LEGO. She speaks Finnish, English and Swedish.

Lana Belakhov (1982) studied International Relations at Saint-Petersburg State University and then completed an Advanced Diploma of Business (Marketing) in Australia in 2006. Lana speaks Russian and English. During her study Lana was extensively involved in marketing and quality control with an importing smallgoods company.
Lana joined Orange and Green in May 2007 and assists with minding quality assurance systems, coordinating specifications, managing artwork development, conducting market research and developing company's information systems.